It may seem like a small thing but those darn muffin cups can sure make a mess of your cupboards. Until I spotted this tip on Pinterest, my muffin cups were a nightmare. Opened packages were scattered all over my pantry and cupboards and I was in serious need of a way to organize them quickly and easily. Enter the mason jar method. Basic beyond belief, a quart mason jar is used for full-size, standard muffin cups and a pint size jar is used for mini muffin cups. When I initially employed this method several months ago, I was shocked at how many muffin cups I had hanging around the darkened corners of my spice cupboard. Half used packages of adorable, colorful muffin cups were going to waste, languishing in the deep recesses of disorganization. Me and my muffin cups have been much happier since the jar method came to be.
I stack the muffin cups in without much thought because it is super simple to turn the jar over and get to the muffin cups you need when you need them. I suppose if you were significantly Type A, you could color code, alphabetize, or arrange them in a myriad of ways…but shoving them in pel-mel works for me. Not only has this given a major makeover to the shelf where the muffin cups reside, but it helps me remain calm and peaceful knowing they are all located in one place and I don’t have to go searching for the ones I want to use. I simply stack the muffin cups in, adding to the jars when I’ve bought new ones, and slide the jars into their proper place on the shelf next to the salt and pure vanilla extract, in case you really want specifics.
While we are on the topic of muffin cups, I thought I’d share a few of my favorite resources for where to buy them. Sure, you can find muffin cups at any old store but I prefer to buy the grease-proof muffin cups for a few reasons: a) they aren’t as free-flowing and squinchy as regular muffin cups (meaning they hold their shape better and don’t get pinched around the edges when filled with batter) b) for the most part, they keep their color which means after you bake your muffins or cupcakes in them, you can still actually tell what color the muffin cup was in the first place instead of the cake/muffin batter shining through and c) they are sturdy enough for little fingers to help fill the muffin tins without crushing the muffin cup to smithereens.
In my area, locally, Hobby Lobby and Michaels carry a fair assortment of grease-proof muffin cups: standard, jumbo and mini. I go to either of those stores when I’m in a pinch (especially since you can usually find a 40% coupon online to print and use). But when I am really on top of my game, I buy them online at Bake It Pretty (the selection here is amazing!) or King Arthur Flour (I heart big time their swirl patterns). Because grease-proof cupcake liners can sometimes pull away from the baked and cooled cupcakes, I like to frost the cupcakes as soon as they are cooled and make sure I take the frosting all the way to the edge of the cupcake liner to seal the cupcake and prevent the liner from pulling away. I’ve only really ever had this problem with the white grease-proof cups – the colored ones seem to hang on to the cupcake or muffin quite well.
Hope this tip was useful to someone else besides me! If not, I’ll still relish in the fact that my muffin cups finally have a safe, happy home.
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